title: Alpha-2b-interferon as single therapy for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia relapsing after T-cell depleted allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.
abstract: 20 CML patients with hematological (5 pts) or only cytogenetic (15 pts) relapse occurring after allogeneic BMT have been treated with alpha-2b-interferon (IFN) at a starting dose of 5 x 10(6) IU/m2, subcutaneously, three times a week. All 5 patients with hematological relapse achieved hematological remission without reduction of bone marrow Ph1-positive cells. With a median follow-up of 43 months (range 6-48) from the hematological relapse, 3 patients are alive and 2 patients died from non-lymphoid blast crisis. 7 out of 15 patients with only cytogenetic relapse remain in hematological remission at a median of 37 months (range 3-45) from cytogenetic relapse, with 2 patients achieving complete cytogenetic remission confirmed at the molecular level by disappearance of the bcr rearranged band. With a median follow-up of 21 months (range 6-46), 8 patients progressed from cytogenetic to hematological relapse: 4 patients died from blast crisis and the other 4 patients are currently alive in chronic phase. For the 15 patients, the actuarial survival from BMT is 71% at 5 years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Biopathology, University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Arcese
authors.forename: F R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Mauro
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Screnci
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Alimena
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Iori
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: De Cuia
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lo Coco
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Montefusco
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fazi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mandelli
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000188:drug therapy*; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012008:Recurrence; D013601:T-Lymphocytes
chemical_list: D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins